Bay Area jurisdictions are at risk of missing their second housing program deadline this year, which would lead to more state penalties.
By May 31, cities and counties that failed to adopt state-approved housing elements will face an accelerated timeline for implementing the necessary rezoning outlined in their housing plans, San Francisco Business Times reports.
Housing Elements are blueprints created every eight years to demonstrate compliance with California’s housing production goals, while rezoning modifies local land use codes to allow for proposed housing developments.
The original deadline for Bay Area municipalities to create housing elements was January 31. Currently, more than 80 percent of Bay Area jurisdictions do not comply with state housing laws. As of May 22, only 20 of the 109 jurisdictions had approved housing elements, and one more is expected to join them soon. Thirty jurisdictions have already submitted their housing elements for review, and if approved and passed by May 31, they could meet the deadline.
For missing the initial deadline, the city faces penalties such as “builder remedies” and could lose eligibility for state-funded affordable housing, transportation and infrastructure.
Now, five months later, jurisdictions that received housing element approval by May 31 will have three years to rezon, but those that do not have only eight months until January 31, 2024.
However, the feasibility of completing repartitioning within the reduced time frame remains uncertain.
In the Bay Area, 53 jurisdictions, including San Jose, Walnut Creek and Hayward, have submitted initial drafts but have not yet approved or are reviewing updated plans. Additionally, the five jurisdictions of Alameda County, Martinez, Daly City, Half Moon Bay and Vallejo have yet to submit any plans to the state.
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While the numbers are worrisome, the Bay Area is faring much better than Southern California, where nearly every jurisdiction missed its housing adoption deadline last year.
Southern California cities, including Los Angeles, see an accelerated rezoning timeline as impossible. As a result, the legislative intervention granted the jurisdictions of Southern California, San Diego, and Sacramento a three-year extension to rezoning provided they adopt the approved housing elements within the new scheduled period.
— Dana Bartholomew
